Rotary drier for textiles



y 5, 1970 H. F. ARENDT 3,509,639

= ROTARY DRIER FOR TEXTILES Filed April 9, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HANS' FRITZ ARENDT ATTORNEYS May 5, 1970 H. F. ARENDT 3,509,639

ROTARY DRIER FOR TEXTILES Filed April 9, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HANS FRITZ ARENDT ATTORNEY-7 May 5, 1970 H. F. ARENDT ROTARY DRIER FOR TEXTILES Fig.6

Fig.7

INVENTOR HANS FRITZ ARENDT United States Patent ROTARY DRIER FOR TEXTILES Hans Fritz Arendt, Bleichinsel, Bietigheim, Wurttemberg, Germany Filed Apr. 9, 1968, Ser. No. 719,884 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 10, 1967, A 55,407 Int. Cl. F26b 11/04 US. Cl. 34-429 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rotary or drum-type drier for drying textiles is disclosed. The drier has a plurality of inclined drum means, each of which is inclined at a different angle. In one embodiment all the drums are inclined downwardly. In a second embodiment the drums at the charging end are inclined upwardly, while the drums at the discharge end are inclined downwardly. The heated air runs countercurrent to the wash.

The present invention relates to a rotary or drum-type drier of the kind as frequently used for drying textiles and, for example, washing. Such rotary driers are charged with the washing from a dewatering or water-separating appliance (such as spin drier, roll press).

With respect to such types of driers it is known to bring the rotating drum into a certain sloping position in order to transport the charge in the direction of the drumaxis. The speed of transportation and, consequently, the time during which the charged goods to be dried remain inside the drum, are thus directly dependent upon the slope caused by the sloping position. It is also known to make the sloping position of the drum adjustable in order thus to vary the speed of transportation and, consequently, the degree of dryness as well as the amount of charge to be passed through.

In the case of large drying capacities there actually result drums whose lengths of, e.g., 2 to 3 metres and more, amount to a multiple of the drum diameter. The washing, when being charged continuously and at otherwise constant data, forms a layer of predetermined thickness on the inside cylinder surface of the drum, with this layer thickness remaining uniform throughout the entire length of the drum. The thickness of this layer, if possible, neither shall fall short of nor exceed a predetermined value, so that the drying airstream which is being supplied in a constant amount and at a constant temperature by a blower, will always achieve the same degree of dryness. Operation becomes uneconomical when this layer is too thin, because too much heat is being afforded. On the other hand, if this layer is too thick, the airstream is prevented from reaching those pieces of washing lying close to the inner circumference of the drum.

At the discharge point, i.e., the point at which the dried goods are being discharged from the drum, however, the layers appear to be too thick in conventional types of machines, for safeguarding an optimum drying. As regards this particular point efforts should be made for the pieces of Washing, also the large ones, such as linen sheets, to be discharged from the drum individually, and not to be partly already positioned on the discharging conveyor belt while other parts are still being retained within the layer and are thus prevented from falling out. Hence, whereas throughout the greater length of the drum dimensioning would have to be made with a view of obtaining an optimum drying, dimensioning at the discharge point would have to be made thus, that the layer becomes thinner in order to allow individual pieces to drop out. These two rules of dimensioning, however, appear to be con- 3,509,639 Patented May 5, 1970 tradictory, so that conventional types of driers either have deficiencies as regards the discharge process or as regards the economy of the drying process.

During the discharge, a piece of washing partly hanging out, is twisted in itself after several drum rotations, i.e., the more the longer the one end is already hanging out and is already positioned on the discharging conveyor belt, while the other end still participates in the drum rotation. This process puts the entire shaking effect in question. In fact, the drying process shall result in loose and slackened individual pieces and not in lumps of knotted washing twisted in itself. As a rule, therefore, there has hitherto been done up with a steeper sloping position of the entire drum and, consequently, with a lower economy of operation, in order to warrant at least an acceptable discharging process.

The object of this invention is to improve these operational conditions with respect to rotary driers employing slopingly arranged drums. The main feature of the invention resides in that the rotary drier consists of several individual drums, each of which having a difiFerent sloping position. In this way the sloping position of each of the individual drums, with the exception of that particular part by which the discharge is effected, can be dimensioned so that an optimum drying effect can be obtained, whereas the individual drum from which the discharge is effected, can be adjusted so as to obtain a smaller layer thickness. Accordingly, there is reliably avoided the formation of lumps of washing, and the dried pieces are discharged as individual parts from the last drum.

According to another feature of the invention the drum parts are designed as individual drums successively coupled to one another, with the supporting frames thereof being joined among each other with the aid of hinges. Appropriately, these individual drums are pivoted on the supporting frame in the manner known per se, with the aid of supporting and driving rollers, and with these driving rollers being driven by a common shaft comprising joints or hinges at the junction points between each time two supporting frames.

At the charging (loading) end the drums may be arranged to have a different sloping position towards the discharging (unloading) point, i.e., to descend from above towards below. According to a further feature of the invention, however, it is particularly advantageous to let the drum or the individual drums respectively, slope upwardly throughout a longer section, for being then designed to slope downwardly within a shorter section and towards the discharging end.

The invention also has for its object the circulation of the drying airstream passing through the drums from the discharging end in opposition to the movement of'the washing or goods to be dried. According to a still further feature of the invention, and with respect to upward-sloping drums, the emptying can be accomplished by employing the used or exhaust air which, at the charging point for the washing, is being passed axially through all of the individual drums.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention will become more apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with FIGS. 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the invention in a schematic representation, while FIGS. 3 and 4 show the supporting frames and the drive mechanism,

FIGS. 5 to 7 show the circulation of air with respect to the individual drums and the housings thereof.

As may be taken from the showing of FIG. 2, the individual drum 1 rotates in the direction as indicated by the arrow, and the engaging members 2 see to that the pieces of washing are being taken along so that they substantially will come to lie on the inside drum surface and, at respectively the highest or approximate peak point of the drum, form a freely floating stream which is particularly well exposed to the drying air. FIG. la shows that the partial drums 3, 4 and 5 rotate about the axis 6 and are being traversed or passed through by the washing in the direction as indicated by the arrow. The dashline 7 indicates the thickness of the layer of washing, and it is well recognizable therefrom that the layer inside the partial drums 3 and 4 has a greater thickness than inside the drum 5 in which the washing reaches the conveyor belt 8 for being discharged in the direction as likewise indicated by the arrow. FIG. lb shows an arrangement of the drums in which the individual drums 3 and 4 are upward-sloping from the charging point and with respect to the horizontal line, and in which the individual drum 5 is downward-sloping. In this way it is accomplished that transportation of the washing inside the drums 3 and 4 is determined by the rate at which these drums are being charged. Drum 5, however, discharges the washing in accordance with its respective sloping position.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the technical embodiment of the invention. The supporting frames 9 serving the drums 3 to 5 rest on supporting members 11 and 12 and, by way of joints or hinges 10, are coupled at one end to a fixed point and otherwise among each other. A motor 13 serves to drive, via a belt or chain drive 14, a shaft 15 to which there are mounted the supporting and driving rollers 16 for the drums 3 to 5. On the other side of the drum (FIG. 4) there are arranged corresponding supporting rollers 17 which, however, are not being driven. Between the individual drums the shaft 15 is equipped with joints or hinges 18 which take care of ensuring the driving whenever the drums are brought into the sloping position.

This is accomplished with the aid of the adjustable supporting members 11 and 12 of which, in the case of lighter constructions, the supporting members 12 may be omitted. By readjusting the height of the supporting members 11, the supporting frames 9 will be caused to turn about the joints or hinges 10, thus permitting the setting of different sloping positions for each individual drum. The joints or hinges 18 may be designed as flexible couplings, because there are only concerned slight deviations from the horizontal line.

As an example of operation there is proceeded from partial drums having a diameter of about. 1400 mm., and each having a length of 1250 mm., with the filling or charge thereof amounting to 60-70 kg. per partial drum. The sloping position of the individual drums is lying between and and the number of rotations between 25 and 45 revolutions per minute, preferably between 27 and 33 rotations per minute. One particular advantage of the invention resides in the fact that the aggregate is capable of being adjusted for various purposes. Accordingly, in the case of 3 to 4 individual drums, the aggregate can be so adjusted that there is only performed the shaking process, hence that the washing as coming out of the spin drier in lumps, is being singled-out or separated. With respect to this process one aggregate according to the aforementioned data, permits a throughput of 1000 to 1500 kg. of washing per hour. In cases where a partial dewatering or water-separation with a 50% residual moisture is to be carried out, 300 to 400 kg. of Washing can be processed per hour, whereas in cases of complete drying, as is preferred, e.g., with respect to baby washing (napkins), 200 to 300 kg. of washing can be processed per hour.

When proceeding according to the schematic as shown in FIG. 1b, then the supports of FIG. 3 are to be adjusted correspondingly, and the drums 3 and 4 have a sloping position with a pitch of about 5 to with the drum 5 being in almost the same sloping position. The other operational values approximately correspond to those of the already described example of operation, but it is possible to achieve a higher degree of filling.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show the housings for the individual drums, as well as the air circulation. FIG. 5 shows a novel view of two housings, FIG. 6 shows a vertical sectional elevation, and FIG. 7 shows a top view. For each individual drum there is provided a separate housing, so that the complete drier may be composed of any arbitrary number, at least however, of two such housings. As can be seen, the fresh air is being sucked at point 21 by the blower 23 and, in doing so, is heated in the heat exchanger 22 which may be heated, e.g., with vapour or electrically. This fresh airstream passes through the drum 24 and into the channel 26 which, with the aid of air deflectors 27 (FIG. 7), supplies the air to the blower 28 of the drum 25. As is evident from the drawings, each drum has a heat register and a blower of its own, so that one drier may consist of several drum supporting frames. For the sake of simplicity only two such frames are shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 although, as a rule, three to six of such frames are required. When designing the system according to the schematic representation of FIG. 1b then the emptying of the drier subsequently to the termination of the drying process is not safeguarded. In fact, to this end there is provided a special flap 29 positioned in the exhaust airstream of the exhaust blower 30. One such exhaust blower is only required to be arranged at the drum charging (loading) the drier. In the operational condition the flap 29 (FIG. 5) is in the position as indicated by the solid line, so that the exhaust air escapes from the drier in the direction as indicated by the solidline arrows. If, however, the drier is supposed to be emptied, then the flap 29 is swivelled (in the) into the position as indicated by the dashlines, so that the exhaust air of the entire system as escaping from the charging drum, will now pass through all drums axially in the charging (loading) direction, thus efiecting the emptying of the drier. No difference in pressure is caused between the individual drums of the drier during operation, and air is only moved in the axial direction for the emptying purpose.

Although the invention has been shown and described in connection with a drier which has been split up into individual sections, it is to be understood that instead of the adjustable sloping position, and with respect to certain characteristic cases of operation, drums of an equal sloping position can be combined to form one single drum, with the sloping position capable of being firmly adjusted in advance.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotary drier for textiles comprising drum means, means for slopingly supporting said drum means, said drum means comprising a plurality of individual drums of equal diameter, said drums being inclined at different angles from the horizontal; and means for revolving said drums at the same speed and in the same direction.

2. A rotary drier according to claim 1, wherein the sloping position of said individual drums increases downwardly from the charging end of said drum means towards the discharging end.

3. A rotary drier according to claim 1, wherein the individual drums at the charging end of said drum means slope upwardly and the individual drums at the discharge end of said drum means slope downwardly, said upwardly sloping drums comprising a greater portion of said drum means than said downwardly sloping drums.

4. A rotary drier according to claim 1, further including means to individually adjust the sloping position of said drums.

5. A rotary'drier according to claim 1, wherein said individual drums are adjoining individual drums, said sup porting means comprising supporting frames for said drum, said supporting frames being coupled with each other by joint means.

6. A rotary drier according to claim 5, wherein said individual drums are pivoted on said supporting frames by means of supporting roller means and driving roller means defining said revolving means, said driving roller means being driven by a common shaft containing means corresponding to said joint means on said supporting frames.

7. A rotary drier according to claim 5, wherein said supporting frames are positioned on supporting members, said supporting members including adjusting means for adjusting the height thereof.

8. A rotary drier according to claim 3, wherein the drying air stream passes through the individual drums from the discharge end, and in counterfiow to the movement of the washing, said drier further including blocking flap means for changing the direction of the exhaust air escaping from the charging end of said drier, whereby during operation said flap means is in a first position thereby allowing the exhaust air to escape from the housing, and when said drum means is being emptied said flap means is in a second position thereby allowing the exhaust air to pass axially through all of said drums.

9. A rotary drier according to claim 1, wherein said individual drums are arranged for textiles to pass successively therethrough in a given general direction, and means for creating an air stream which passes through the individual drums from one end portion of said drum means in a direction opposite to the movement of textiles passing therethrough.

10. A rotary drier according to claim 9, further including a housing means surrounding each of said individual drums, and wherein said means for creating an air stream includes air deflectors arranged in each of said housing means for directing said air therethrough.

11. A rotary drier according to claim 10 wherein said means for creating an air stream further includes a heat register arranged in each of said housing means for directing said air at a constant temperature therethrough.

12. A rotary drier according to claim 11, wherein said means for creating an air stream further includes a blower and channel means for directing said air therethrough.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 315,508 4/1885 Johnson 34142 1,890,455 12/1-932 Consorti 34l42 XR 2,451,206 10/1948 Ellis 34133 2,463,683 3/1949 Fay 34-429 XR 2,506,739 5/1950 Raypholtz 34137 KENNETH W. SPRAGUE, Primary Examiner 

